Divorce Lawyer: Conservative Iran Is Having More Breakups

Iran celebrates each year the day 1400 years ago when the highest Islamic religious figure married his wife, who was related to the Prophet Mohammed.  Due to the changing societal views on marriage, the Iranian government has outlawed divorce on this day of commemoration in order to grant a reprieve to the escalating rate of family breakups.  The changing views of divorce show the concerns that even this deeply religious country is now further embracing Western culture and patterns, including non-lasting marriages.

Recent data suggest that it must be a good time to be a divorce lawyer in Tehran. According to recent census estimates, the rate of families slitting apart has almost tripled over the last couple of year.  This is even more so in urban places such as Tehran.  While this change is in it of itself noteworthy, what is even more so is that many Iranian women are now seeking legal relief themselves, in order perhaps for a greater life and ability to get out of repressive or otherwise unhappy relationships.  Also of note is that young people are not getting married as much as they use to, creating a more unstable society.

Because of the closed nature of the society and government, it is hard to get an accurate understanding of what is going on and why.  Some conservative Iranian pundits are comparing divorce and not getting married to such other social ills such as abusing drugs and alcohol.  The government, which is made up primarily of staunchly religious conservatives, is enormously worried about this recent development such that it is making statements to the effect that this trend poses risks to the nation.  Such statements may just be hyperbole, as Iran’s president has attempted to move the country towards a more nationalistic frame of mind, rather than religious.  This concern, however, could though reflect genuine concern among the nation’s leaders that a further destabilized youth movement could further hurt the country’s ambitions.

For a divorce lawyer looking at this from afar, it is easy to conclude that the same reasons that the rate of marriages ending in Iran is the same transformation that occurred in the United States.  That is, greater social liberalization and acceptance of divorce, and changing economic realities.  This may be particularly true for women, as their society may also be experiencing something similar to the women’s liberation that the United States went through in the 20th century.

Hopefully, Iran will bend somewhat in order to make it easier for women to end their marriage, which currently can be difficult even with the assistance of a divorce lawyer.  It is generally understood that men in Iran can have their marriages over very quickly if they wish, but women must give reasons and then have those reasons accepted by a court.  In order to make it go faster, some Iranian women will forgo some of the money that they would receive in the event of a divorce to their husbands so that he can do move the process along faster.